Leaders have made many more game-changing climate action announcements at the UN Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (COP22) – including the Champions’ Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action – emboldening efforts to keep the global average temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

A High-Level Event on Global Climate Action at COP22 in Marrakech has brought together leaders to make a range of announcements, which are accelerating climate action to fast-track the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Governments, international organizations, cooperative initiatives and non-government stakeholders clearly demonstrated how their commitments to addressing climate change are maturing into concrete actions; including:

Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action

The High-Level Climate Champions Laurence Tubiana (France) and Hakima El Haité (Morocco) launched this partnership as a means of providing a strong road-map for how the UNFCCC process will catalyse and support climate action by Parties (government) and non-Party (non-government) stakeholders in the period from 2017-2020, giving effect to the existing arrangements as agreed by Parties at COP21 in Paris. It is designed to act in the service of all of those across the globe who are passionately engaged in efforts to fight climate change and ensure a better, more resilient and more equitable lifestyle for our fellow citizens of the world.

Marrakech Investment Committee for Adaptation (MICA) Fund

The first ever private adaptation and resilience investment vehicle, MICA is a $500 million blended finance fund, combining concessional finance and private investment capital in partnership with The Lightsmith Group (United States), BeyA Capital (Africa), The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Government of Morocco, and GARF private investors.

Initiative for Renewable Island Energy

The Maldives will be partnering with the International Renewable Energy Agency to increase political momentum behind rapidly scaling up renewable energy and energy efficiency in Small Island Developing States.

African Capital Markets

19 African Capital Markets Authorities and Exchanges, accounting for 26 African countries have signed and endorsed the Marrakech Pledge for Fostering Green Capital Markets in Africa.

EU Commission launches plan to encourage investment in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood to strengthen partnerships and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Includes the European Fund for Sustainable Development, which will have a value of up to EUR4.1 billion, triggering regional public and private investment of up to EUR44 billion to 2020.

The opening ceremony featured President of COP22, Salaheddine Mezouar, President of the Marshall Islands, Hilda Heine, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The event also offered the opportunity for Climate Champion and Moroccan Environment Minister, Hakima El Haité, to celebrate outgoing Champion Laurence Tubiana: “Thank you for your devotion and your commitment. I won’t say goodbye, because being a Champion is not just a mandate that we have, but a calling that is close to our hearts.”

This headline ‘moment’, represented the culmination of a series of thematic events – hosted by the Climate Champions – that shone a spotlight on momentum in eight key areas: Forests, Water, Industry & Business, Human Settlements, Energy, Oceans, Transport and Agriculture. Over a two-week program during the course of COP22, these gatherings involved over 150 speakers – including Ministers, CEOs, and Mayors – and attracted over 4,000 people from around the world.

Other ‘highlight’ announcements made during the Global Climate Action thematic events included:

Forests

The Government of Indonesia announced it is implementing a moratorium on clearing super-high-carbon intact peatlands. The action builds on Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s announcement at last year’s Forest Action Day in Paris, to end new and review existing peat concessions.

Colombia has announced plans to close the forest frontier as a key component of a post-conflict future. Efforts include focusing development on non-forest lands, implementing strong tenure reform, and placing very large areas of forest under indigenous peoples’ control.

A new partnership between FAO and Google has created Collect Earth, an open-source tool that provides access to large collections of free, high-resolution satellite imagery and cloud computing.

Water

The “Water for Africa” initiative, established by the Kingdom of Morocco and supported by the African Development Bank was launched, aiming to render justice to Africa through the adoption of a specific action plan that will mobilize different international political, financial and institutional partners.

The three alliances for basins, megacities and businesses, created at COP21, which today represent more than 450 organizations worldwide, signed a common commitment to mobilize jointly their partners, identify and disseminate good practices and support the development of new projects.​

Industry & Business

The number of companies making climate commitments through the We Mean Business coalition has more than doubled since COP21.

We Mean Business announced that in total, 471 companies with over $8 trillion in market capitalization have undertaken well over a thousand ambitious commitments to climate action. These companies represent every sector and geography globally.

The Science Based Targets initiative continues to see tremendous momentum since Paris. To date, almost 200 companies have joined the initiative, and in the past year, growth has been at a rate of over 2 new companies per week.

Energy

Indian company Dalmia Cement and Helvetia insurance group committed to use 100% renewable power across their operations and join RE100.

Swiss Re committed to double its energy productivity and join EP100, a global campaign that works with companies to maximize the economic benefits of every unit of energy they consume.

Cities, towns and regions are making big impacts in implementing their climate commitments by acting locally and partnering globally,

A new assessment tool, which was presented during the Resilience showcase, will allow standardized qualitative reporting of adaptation commitments to the Global Covenant of Mayors.

The Energy Efficiency in Buildings Programme was launched, designed to unlock funds for the improvement of energy efficiency through better coordination, offering technical assistance and financing transformational projects.

Oceans

FAO, World Bank and the African Development Bank announced the African Package for Climate-Resilient Ocean Economies, an ambitious package of technical and financial assistance to support ocean economies in Africa, and build greater resilience of coastal areas to climate change.

The Kingdom of Morocco announced its Blue Belt Initiative aimed at building the resilience of coastal communities and promoting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in keeping with SDG14 expectations.

COP22 Ocean Action partners released the Strategic Action Roadmap on Oceans and Climate: 2016 to 2021, which provides a vision for action regarding oceans and climate in the next five years, addressing six oceans.

The MobiliseYourCity initiative secured 35 Million Euro in funding over the last 12 months and is making use of COP22 to announce the start of developing Sustainable Urban Mobility plans in Morocco and Cameroon.

Agriculture

Launch of the Adaptation for African Agriculture (AAA) initiative aims to build the resilience of farmers in Africa by promoting sustainable soil management, better water management and risk management linked with tailored capacity development, policies and funding mechanisms.

Launch of The Global Framework on Water Scarcity supports countries to integrate climate change and sustainable water use into their agricultural sectors policies and cross-sectoral dialogue.

130 mayors from cities across the world signed the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP), which calls for sustainable food systems that foster the accessibility of healthy food to urban citizens, biodiversity protection and food waste reduction.

2,138 companies from 145 countries representing $36.6 trillion USD in revenue. The total revenue represented is roughly equivalent to the GDPs of United States, China, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

16 of the 20 largest banks representing $1.7 trillion USD by market capitalization.

The Yale Data-Driven Environmental Solutions Group has summarized the key actions registered on the NAZCA portal.

About Global Climate Action

France and Morocco's global climate champions have set out their detailed agenda to boost cooperative action between governments, cities, business, investors and citizens to cut emissions rapidly and help vulnerable nations adapt to climate impacts and build their own clean energy, sustainable futures.

Message from the Champions

“A year after COP 21, the momentum of climate action is now growing strong. As we gather in Marrakech, time has come to take stock of what has been achieved during the last year. To be consistent with the long-term goals, all actors have to work together, not only to achieve the national targets of the NDCs, but also to go further and bridge the gap of emissions. This sense of urgency should guide us all into accelerating immediate efforts and delivering ambitious action. We must identify what concrete policy options and what tools to mobilize in the short term. The science is clear: the path towards achieving the long-term goals should bring us to peaking GHG emissions by 2020. This is a challenge, and we are not there yet. With the current trends, we will be between 11 to 14 GT above Paris-compatible pathways in 2030. The purpose of these Climate Action Events is to strengthen all efforts towards reaching three objectives: stay well below 2°C and if possible 1.5°C; increase adaptation and resilience capacities; and reorient financial flows. It is our responsibility, as Champions, to make the link between the real world and the COP process. Political leaders from all around the world should hear and be inspired by the solutions within our reach.”